Personal Time
by SuperKamiGuuru
Summary: Sara is overworked in her duties as Pathfinder, so Peebee wants her to take some personal time. This takes place after Journey to Meridian and the Epilogue Missions. This is my first attempt at both romance and femslash. It is not a lemon story, though it may walk the line at times. Read and review, please.


**This is my first attempt at a femslash (or slash in general, actually) or romance at all, so be gentle. As of now, this is a Two-Shot. I finished the game and was disappointed with the lack of continued romance scenes between my Ryder and Peebee. I welcome all constructive criticism. I mainly write academic papers, so any help in my narrative writing is helpful. Flames and general game criticism will be ignored or reported, depending on the severity.**

 **Note: My Sara Ryder character is Asian and a ginger. The picture attached to the story is a screenshot of my character. Also, I'm Red/Green colorblind, which prevents me from seeing colors like purple (I can't see the red mixed with the blue. It just looks blue to me), so if Peebee's skin is actually purple and not blue, not my fault.**

 **Note: I don't do lemons in general, but especially in this case. Mostly because I'm a straight male and don't think that I could do this realistic justice (I'm aware it involves aliens and a sci-fi world). Also, doesn't technically allow lemons, I think. But mostly because I couldn't do a lesbian pairing justice.**

 **Speech Patterns:**

"Normal Speech"

"SAM Speech"

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Personal Time Needed**

"Sara," Pelessaria 'Peebee' B'Sayle murmured as she stretched luxuriously across the large bed she occupied. She reached out a hand and found a cold spot where a warm body should have been laying. The asari frowned and rolled over to look across the room with bleary eyes. She spotted a weary-looking Sara Ryder hunched over the desk in the far corner of the large room. She tossed off the covers and swung her legs off the side of the bed.

Sara was dressed in a pair of loose black shorts and a tight Initiative Blue tank top as she hunched over her desk. The young Pathfinder frowned at a pad in her hand and a second pad that lay on top of a pile on the desktop.

"Why are there two separate requests for the same part for the _Tempest_? They were put in a half hour apart from each other! Damn it, Gil." She approved the request in her hand and made a note to use Gil for her hand-to-hand training in the next rotation. She heard Peebee shuffle around in bed and ignored it, focusing on the messy stack of pads that remained on her desk. She would join Peebee in a few minutes. It was only a little after midnight, after all. Sara jumped as Peebee slipped her arms around her torso and placed her chin on the human's shoulder.

"Babe, it's late. Come to bed and sleep." Sara let her own head flop backward to rest on Peebee's shoulder.

"I can't yet, love. I'm drowning in paperwork and if I don't try to get ahead of it tonight, it'll just spawn overnight. I swear Tann is just getting revenge for not recommending Hayjer for the Intermediate Ambassador. Asshat." Peebee giggled as she planted a gentle kiss on the human's neck.

"It's a possibility, though I'm sure he has an excuse. I just think he's incompetent. But regardless of his lack of competency, you need to sleep. It's already 0230, Sara. Cora will be trying to wake us up in about four hours." Sara blinked and her head shot upright and twisted to look at Peebee.

"Zero two hundred? I swear it was just after midnight!" Peebee looked at her with a repressed grin.

"Babe, I came in the room just after midnight. You were filling out budget requisition forms to upgrade the Nomad when I walked in." Sara's blue eyes looked confused.

"Huh? Oh, geez. I'm losing my brain trying to keep up with this shit." Peebee tugged at the Pathfinder, gently leading her towards the bed.

"Sara, you just need a day off. You've been going non-stop since Archon confronted us after finding out about Meridian. The paperwork is going to be there in the morning, but I'm getting worried about how much this is getting to you." Sara sighed as she climbed into the spacious bed with her asari girlfriend.

"Alright. I'll sleep for a few hours. Tomorrow, maybe I'll see about taking a little personal time." Peebee raised a brow at her as she wrapped her arms around the slim Asian woman.

"Maybe?" Sara rolled her eyes, then jumped as the asari poked her in the side.

"Ok, I'll look into taking personal time!" She kissed Peebee quickly on the lips. "SAM? Goodnight. Engage sleep protocols."

"Of course, Pathfinder," SAM intoned. The lights slowly faded out as Sara and Peebee drifted off to sleep.

*Two Weeks Later*

Peebee rolled over to once again see her lover hunched over her desk, flipping through pads that littered the desk.

"Sara, this is the fourth night in a row that paperwork has you up until after 0200. If you don't put that down and come back to bed, I'm going to brave Nosy Lexi to drug you and make you sleep in the med bay." Sara's back stiffened. Peebee sighed. "Hon, this is getting to be unhealthy. I'm worried about you." Sara's back relaxed minutely at the worry in the asari's voice. "You are running on less and less sleep. If you go on a dangerous mission like this…" Peebee looked away out the large window in their quarters, tears in her eyes. She swiped at the tears with the back of her hand and looked back to see Sara facing her. The Pathfinder stood up and walked to the bed, sliding under the covers beside the asari.

"I'm sorry, Peebee." Her tanned hand, calloused but gentle, cupped the asari's face. A thumb tenderly wiped a tear from under Peebee's vividly green left eye. Sara kissed away a remaining tear from beside her other eye. "I've been so focused on trying to live up to my Pathfinder legacy that I forgot there was someone worrying about me." She laughed mournfully. "I'm starting to turn into my dad. It's kinda frightening how easy it is to slip into that mode." Peebee leaned her forehead against Sara's.

"You don't need to live up to anything. You're THE Pathfinder. You already have a planet named after you and a plant that apparently won't survive outside a lab, what more could you want?" Sara giggled at the reminder of the plant that Suvi's science friends had named after her.

"Yeah, that's true. How about this? I'll ask for three days leave for the entire crew; we all deserve it. Then you and I can kick Scott out of the Pathfinder quarters on Hyperion/Meridian and make it ours. Somewhere away from paperwork, missions, nosy other asari." A wink reminded Peebee that her crack about Lexi had not been missed. "And we spend three whole days just being together. Thoughts?" Peebee pulled Sara tight against her and squealed softly, as to not wake the rest of the crew.

"I love it! Though, won't Scott have an issue with getting kicked out of his quarters?" Sara snorted.

"The freeloader has been making some noise about doing something useful. I'll tell him to hop a ride to Aya or Havarl. He can work with the angara for a while, learning about their culture and history. He was always good at history, even though he went into the military while I did archaeology." Sara grinned. "Maybe he'll find someone if he's out and about instead of being holed up in the Hyperion all the time." Peebee laughed and dragged Sara down onto the bed.

"SAM? Engage Personal Time protocol!"

"As you wish, Peebee." Soft lighting came on and cycled through various shades of deep colors in the room as Peebee expressed her delight at the idea of a vacation.

*The Next Day*

Sara woke up with Peebee wrapped up in her arms, tangled in the blankets, to the sound of beeping from her console. She sat up, Peebee's arms sliding down to her waist.

"SAM? Do I have a priority message?"

"Yes, Pathfinder. Director Tann has sent a priority message requesting your presence at Nexus." Sara shook her head.

"Alright. I'll get dressed and head to the conference room." The young woman gently shook her lover. "Peebee. Time to get up, babe. Tann sent a priority request for a vid call that I need to take and it's difficult to get up while you have a death grip on my waist." Peebee grumbled and wrinkled her nose. She nipped Sara's hip, let go of her naked waist, and rolled over, obviously trying to squeeze a little more sleep before wakefulness was completely required. Sara rolled her eyes with a grin and got up to dress.

* * *

Sara strode into the conference area and punched up her vid call with Tann. A hologram of the unpleasant salarian appeared on the opposite side of the table.

"What was so urgent that it required a meeting at 0700?" Tann obviously tried to withhold a sneer at the Pathfinder's yawn.

"Some of us like to start early, Pathfinder. I'm calling because I'm still waiting on reports from half your team about the issues at Kadaara." Sara blinked and stopped half-way through a yawn. She closed her mouth with a click.

"Tann, that is not a priority issue. You have my report. That is the primary. Even if you didn't have my report, it still would warrant an email at best. Sending a priority channel request for a vid conference is overkill at best. But now that I have you here, I did have something that I was going to talk to you about. My crew needs some down time. Proper down time, not the time between planets and missions that we've been doing for most of the last year." Tann gritted his teeth.

"We can't afford you to take time off in this turbulent time! The kett are still around and need to be dealt with! Outposts need work and you need to be in the public eye! For morale, if nothing else." Sara set her shoulders square as she stared down the bureaucrat.

"Yes, the kett are around. But we don't have leads on major bases at the moment. Yes, outposts need work. But they'll never be self-sufficient if I continue to intervene at every turn. I trust the leaders of each outpost that I established. If they need me, I'm only an email away, even on personal time. However, my team has been going essentially non-stop for over nine months. I am not the only Pathfinder in this galaxy. Andromeda will not burn down if my crew takes a three-day leave."

"Three days," Tann spluttered. "We can't afford you to take three days off!" Sara growled and punched the console, requesting Kesh, Tiran Kandros, and Foster Addison to jump into the call. Holograms popped up around the table, looking a little confused. Sara punched in a couple of other contacts without saying a word. An asari, a turian, and a salarian appeared as holograms to complete the set.

"Now that I have all of you here, I'm making a request. Well, request might be the wrong word, but it's the polite one. My crew needs some proper down time. I'm requesting three days leave for the entire crew, myself included, for some R&R. Director Tann seems to think that we're too invaluable to have three days of personal time." Sara's vivid blue eyes never left the hologram of Tann, who was shifting uncomfortably. Pathfinder Hayjer was the first to speak.

"I don't see a problem in giving your people some time off. You're more than ready for it." Kesh was the next to pipe up.

"I don't see a problem here." As a group, the holograms turned to look at Tann. "Tann, what issues do you think couldn't sit for a few days or be assigned to another Pathfinder?" Tann gritted his teeth.

"That's not the point. If the most visible Pathfinder suddenly disappears for a couple of days, it will look bad for the Initiative! She has a mythical stature and we should be using that to expand our influence, especially after we failed to gain more influence by having one of us be the Interim Ambassador!" Sara snorted.

"Well, now that his reason is in the open, can we all agree it's a dumb reason?" The entire group nodded and murmured agreement. "Good. Now, I'm going to talk with my crew and after that, we'll be taking leave. I will be spending my leave at Meridian in the Hyperion, mostly. Thanks for talking with me." She nodded to her colleges and logged off the call. Sara breathed out slowly, trying to control the final vestiges of her flared temper before she spoke to her crew.

"SAM, call the crew to the conference table," she said, once she reigned in her emotions.

"Of course, Pathfinder." Sara leaned against the round table while she waited, thinking about the thousand things that needed to be accomplished before they arrived at Meridian.

The sound of boots thumping on deck plates greeted Sara well before any of her crew made it up the stairs into the conference area. Cora was first to arrive, just like always. Sara's second-in-command gave her a curious glance as she moved around the huge round table. Vetra and Drack came up simultaneously, deep in discussion about what Sara could only guess was a specific weapon they had both used in various conflicts in the Milky Way. Gil and Jaal came in on the heels of the large pair while Lexi and Liam came up the opposite set of stairs. All of them had apparently been listening to the weapon conversation for a while, given the expressions they all sported. Peebee, Suvi, and a complaining Kallo were the last ones to arrive. Suvi and Peebee each held one of Kallo's arms and were physically dragging the lighter salarian with them as he protested.

"But what if the autopilot fails and we steer straight into a star?!" Sara blinked.

"Kallo, SAM will let us know if something like that is imminent well before we actually hit something. We're a grand total of fifty yards from the bridge, we'll be fine even if the autopilot didn't work." Kallo gave her a reproachful glare as he was dragged to stand at the table. "Besides, this won't take long." Sara turned to face her team, marveling at the diversity and massive experience represented there. Cora spoke up before Sara had a chance to speak again.

"Does this have something to do with the irate email I got from Tann yesterday? Something about reports?" Sara barked a short laugh.

"Ignore that email, I've spoken to Tann already. People, we've been going pretty much non-stop for a while now. Even our celebration after beating the Archon only lasted long enough for me to wake up and finish paperwork. So I've requested and received three days of full R&R leave for the entire crew. What this means is that we're not doing paperwork, not doing maintenance, not cleaning the gun collections. We're going to dock at Meridian and everyone is getting a full seventy-two hours to do whatever they want to do, within reason. Unless you'd like us to drop you somewhere on the way there for your leave, then we can do that." The entire crew blinked. Lexi was the first to speak.

"So the Initiative actually agreed to that?" Sara grinned.

"I didn't exactly give them an option, but Kesh and the other Pathfinders agree with me. Continuing at the pace we've set will only burn us out. So, shore leave. If you want to go somewhere other than Meridian, send myself or Kallo an email. Or, you know, just walk over and talk to one of us. That's it, unless someone else has something." The group collectively shrugged and dispersed, chatting with each other. Liam was chattering excitedly with Jaal about something he had planned while Drack and Vetra resumed their prior conversation. Cora came up to Sara, a curious look on her normally stoic face.

"Sara, why the sudden need for time off?" The young Pathfinder grinned sheepishly at her.

"Peebee noticed that I was spending more time working on paperwork than sleeping. Or doing anything else. She's right. We've been working so hard since we got to Andromeda, we haven't had the time to actually enjoy what we've accomplished." Cora laughed.

"Yeah, that's fair, I guess. What are you going to do for three days of no exploring and no paperwork?"

"I'm going to spend time with my girlfriend and possibly a little time with my little brother. Mostly, I'm getting away from the stacks and stacks of paperwork that have been breeding on my desk."

"You know that they'll go away if you do them?"

"I do the paperwork! But every morning, Tann sends me more shit to do!" Cora furrowed her brow.

"That doesn't make any sense. I only get half a dozen or so forms per day. Maybe fifteen on a bad day." Sara eyed her with confusion.

"I get like forty things per day, just from Tann and the Initiative alone. That's not counting the requisition forms Gil and Kallo about _Tempest_ repairs, food requisitions for the crew, stuff from Vetra for weapons and ammunition, science stuff from Suvi, and mission requests and reports from everyone that I have to sign off on." Cora's brow furrowed more.

"Sara, I think we need to address how much the Initiative is sending you. I agree, we need the down time, but there's something else going on. After leave, we need to sit down with your paperwork and my own to see what is happening." Sara shrugged.

"Ok. I just figured that Tann was being his normal asshole self. Unfortunately, the manual for being Pathfinder didn't include how much paperwork was involved or should be involved." Cora laughed.

"Fair enough."

"What are you planning for your leave, Cora? Planting a rose garden on Meridian?"

"That actually sounds like a good plan. Let me know if Peebee lets you out of your quarters during leave." The commando winked at her commanding officer's blushing face. Peebee wandered over while Cora walked away.

"So you really got the time. I half-expected you to put it off for another month." Peebee grunted as Sara smacked her toned stomach lightly.

"It needed doing. And I got to jump down Tann's throat, so it ended up being a good morning overall." Peebee nodded happily, thinking about Tann being put in his place for once.

"That always makes a day better. The only good way to talk to that jackass is getting to berate him. So, what are we going to do on Meridian for three whole days?" The cheeky asari waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Sara laughed.

"Well, other than _those_ things," the Asian woman winked saucily at the emphasis, "I figure we can redecorate the quarters and just relax. Maybe explore some of Meridian itself instead of just reading the email updates? Maybe have a vid marathon or something? Or I could try to make you dinner or breakfast in bed." Peebee stared into Sara's eyes hard for along moment, green eyes boring into blue long enough for the Pathfinder to become unsure about her idea. "Peebee?" She was startled when Peebee seized her hand and started to drag the human away.

"Let's go back to our room for a bit, Ryder. I want to… _discuss_ … with you just how much I like this idea." Sara laughed and quickened her pace to match steps with Peebee, shifting grips to hold the young asari's hand. The pair passed by their crewmates, all of whom were excitedly chattering about their upcoming leave, as the couple made their way back to the private suite they shared.

Sara turned to engage the locks on her door and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The lithe woman ducked and stepped backward, dodging the mischievous tackle from her lover and turning the tables on her, darting forward to loop her arms around Peebee's midriff. She gently bit at the asari's neck as she tightened her grip and pulled the woman backward further into the room. Peebee giggled and started to wriggle about, twisting herself around to attempt to face Sara.

"Oh, you using those Pathfinder skills on little ol' me now?" Sara grinned and swept the asari's legs from under her while lifting, pulling the taller woman off her feet momentarily. Taking advantage of that, Sara tossed Peebee onto the bed.

"Maybe. Against a rogue like you, this poor Pathfinder needs all the advantages she can get. Last time I gave you an inch, you tackled me to the ground." Peebee was sprawled out on the bed, smiling up at her.

"Well, well. Someone is learning."

"Had to at some point," Sara said with a grin. "So what was this _discussion_ that you wanted to have?" Peebee's smile morphed into another mischievous grin.

"Oh, that discussion? Well, you need to be a little closer for _that_ discussion." Sara's grin widened.

"Oh?" She took one step closer to the edge of the bed. "Like here?" Peebee lifted her arm and crooked her finger. "Or here," Sara said as she took a half-step closer. Peebee moved faster than anyone short of an N7 and snagged the front hem of her shirt, yanking the woman forward onto the bed. "Ooohhh, you meant that close! Why didn't you say so?" Peebee pinned the human under her and leaned down to nip at her pulse point.

"Yep. That close." Sara closed her eyes in pleasure briefly before twisting the pair and flipping positions. She pinned Peebee's arms over her head as she kissed the asari, hard. Sara moved down her neck, kissing and nibbling. Peebee writhed under her, moaning softly. Sara shifted one hand off Peebee's pinned arms and slid one hand down the asari's side.

Peebee, distracted by the sensations caused by Sara's kissing, missed the spare hand and jumped as the belts that held her jacket/shirt together were swiftly unbuckled and the jacket was thrown open to reveal her bra-clad breasts. She arched her back as Sara moved to nibble lightly on her collarbone, then let out a breathless giggle.

"Hmm?" Sara drew herself up, her blue eyes staring into Peebee's green eyes. "Whatcha giggling about, babe?" Peebee leaned her head up to capture Sara's lips briefly.

"That you're overdressed." The asari freed her arms with a sharp sideways jerk and brought them down to the hem of Sara's short-sleeved uniform shirt. She pulled the shirt up and over Sara's head to reveal the black skintight tank top that served as the human's bra. Her hands immediately moved back down to grasp Sara's firm rear and her slim leg rubbed against Sara's.

Sara laughed as she pulled Peebee's jacket/shirt the rest of the way off her body. As soon as the clothing was free, the human swooped down to resume her exploration of Peebee's collarbone. Peebee jerked at the plain white trousers that Sara habitually wore, accidentally tearing off a button from the front in her haste, and pushed them down Sara's shapely hips. She utilized her legs to help push the pants further than her hands could comfortably reach. Sara kicked out of them without breaking contact with Peebee's blue skin and moved her hands down to the asari's own rear. Sara growled with frustration at the skin-tight pants Peebee wore.

"Babe, I love seeing you in these pants, but they are a pain to get off you." Peebee laughed.

"Well, I've been told all my life that I make things difficult." Sara bit her shoulder gently in reproof as she moved her hands to the front of Peebee's pants. A hard jerk in opposite directions popped the front buttons and tore the material of the pants slightly. Sara peeled the pants off Peebee's slim body, swooping down to plant kisses on her legs as they were revealed. Once she had gotten the pants off Peebee's body, Sara threw the clothing across the room, not caring where they landed.

Peebee wrapped her long legs around Sara's waist and pulled the Pathfinder down to meet her lips against. After series of long, sensuous kisses, Sara pulled back just enough to speak.

"SAM?"

"Pathfinder?"

"Please engage Personal Time protocols. Then you can power down your Node in here for a while. I'll talk to you later."

"As you wish, Pathfinder."

The lights in the suite dimmed and soft music began to play. From his spot in the galley, Drack looked up at the sound of giggling and moans from his CO's room. A grin flickered across his craggy features.

"Kids."

* * *

*A Few Days Later*

Sara stood on the bridge of the _Tempest_ , listening idly to Suvi and Kallo chat back and forth about some new readings that had come from survey teams searching Meridian. The small ship smoothly transitioned from FTL flight to come into orbit around the created Remnant planet Meridian. Suvi spoke up.

"We're holding steady orbit, Pathfinder. Ready to descend when you are." Sara nodded.

"Take us down. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for our vacation." Suvi and Kallo nodded. Sara grasped the rails in front of her as the ship began to move planetside.

* * *

 **Ok, there's Part 1 of this Two-Shot. I'll hopefully have the second chapter done in about a week or so. However, I'm finishing my semester of graduate work and trying to finish my Master's Thesis soon, so it may get delayed.**

 **Again, I will not be doing lemons. I will, however, drive close to the line a few times.**

 **Next Time: "Three Days of Leave: What Ever Shall We Do?"**

 **Please read and review. It's like getting paid for an author, just without having the ability to pay for groceries.**


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